New poems and variant readings/In Maximum

by Robert Louis Stevenson

IN MAXIMUM

Wouldst thou be free? I think it not, indeed;
But if thou wouldst, attend this simple rede:

When quite contented	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	thou canst dine at home
Thou shall be free when

And drink a small wine of the march of Rome;
When thou canst see unmoved thy neighbour's plate,
And wear my threadbare toga in the gate;

When thou hast learned to love a small abode,
And not to choose a mistress à la mode:
When thus contained and bridled thou shalt be,
Then, Maximus, then first shalt thou be free.